1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to internet search utilities and, more specifically, to an internet application that combines disparate data sources to obtain focused search results for presentation in a customizable, targeted, user-friendly format.
2. Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98
Recently, popular news, social networking and blogging web sites such as MySpace (myspace.com), YouTube (youtube.com), Flickr (flickr.com), Facebook (facebook.com), Blogger (blogger.com), and the like have facilitated a flood of information on the Internet. However, the ways in which this information is searched and retrieved has remained essentially unchanged.
Traditional search engines index this information using automated programs or scripts known as web crawlers. These automated crawlers visit URLs and create indexes to content that they encounter and/or download actual copies of the content to localized servers. A user performing a search for content using these search engines then inputs a text string as a search query. Backend algorithms parse the search query terms and generate results based on the stored indexes. Finally, the results are categorized or ranked for presentation to the user.
FIG. 1 depicts a prior art search process using the Google search engine. For example, a search for “Crash” (102) utilizing the Google search engine (104) yields approximately 172 million results (106). Naturally, such a large number of results must be split among multiple display pages. The first page typically displays 10 results as linear textual information interspersed with various hyperlinks to the original or related content (106). If the first 10 displayed results do not satisfy a user, the user is forced to select page after page to display the remaining results in increments of 10, or submit a modified search in an effort to get the Google search algorithm to narrow the overall count.
A search for “Crash” utilizing the Yahoo search engine yields a staggering 426 million results. This search engine also returns results in the same linear textual format with various hyperlinks to the original or related content. Again, such an unmanageably large number of results must be split among an even greater number of pages, forcing the requester to navigate page after page of text until the relevant information is located.
The above is an example of a “one search request in—one search result out” methodology as is commonly used. This methodology forces the user to modify and refine search requests if the results provided by the initial search request do not yield acceptable results. For the advanced searcher, additional clarity or narrowing of the search results can only be achieved with painstakingly created Boolean constructs.
Moreover, the textual format in which the results are returned (106) is at best cumbersome for a user to evaluate. Users must read through the text results to determine whether a particular result is referring to a text, video, or some other type of document. While informative, the use of text to describe results does not convey information as efficiently as other, more visual forms.
Other attempts have been made to improve on this search methodology. For example, Rollyo (rollyo.com) and Dogpile (dogpile.com) each offer a service that allows a user to combine search utilities. This allows a user to conduct a search on multiple search engines from one interface (also known as a “meta” search). However, the results returned by this utility are the same voluminous pages of linear textual information and hyperlinks as mentioned previously in a typical Google search result. Although Google is a “primary indexer” of websites and Rollyo and Dogpile are not, to the end user the differences in the returned result are slim. Again, the user must view page after page of textual results to locate information relevant to his or her search request.
Accordingly, a need exists for a search utility that can retrieve, package and present search results in an efficient and user-friendly fashion. The presentation of the results should be tailored to the particular search, and should provide the user with combinations of views or perspectives with which to access the information in a more useful and intuitive fashion. For example, medical search results are more linear and the returned results should be more utilitarian in nature and include important information such as source and date. In contrast, a celebrity search result should include photos, videos, blog posts, etc. and the presentation or user interface should be more fun and whimsical. The present invention addresses these needs and others as presented by the following discussion in light of the accompanying drawings.